


Mischief

by thenakednymph



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: BUT NOOOOOO I HAD TO GO AND TURN EVERYTHING ELSE INTO PAIN, Cat!Adrien, F/M, I have named cat!adrien Mischief, WE NEED FLUFF NOT ANGST, WHICH IT'S SUPPOSED TO BE, WHY!?, cute fluffy cuddles!, he's a troublemaker, reasons
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-04-30
Updated: 2016-05-07
Packaged: 2018-06-05 10:08:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 5,354
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6700639
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thenakednymph/pseuds/thenakednymph
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Adrien has been living in Marinette's room for the past month on four paws. He worries when she's gone.</p><p>This is not the chat noir you're looking for.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

 

Adrien paced irritably across the room, his little paws thumping rapidly against the carpet. When he came up against the far wall he'd half jump, pivoting on his back feet and begin again, tail flicking petulantly. Every few minutes he'd jump up and glance out the window for the familiar flash of Ladybug's red suit in the dark, but there was no sign of her. He resisted the urge to let out a worried cry, knowing Marinette's parents still didn't know he'd been living in her room for the past month. Although how she'd managed to keep it a secret was beyond him. She wasn't exactly subtle.

He finished another circuit, his heart lurching into his throat as he heard a thump overhead. Bolting up the ladder, he stood on her bed as the trapdoor opened and Ladybug slipped inside, landing on the mattress and bouncing Adrien sideways. Adrien skittered nervously around her feet as she pulled the door shut behind her and released her transformation. Tikki spun up into the the air beside her with a contented sigh, Adrien still pawing insistently at Marinette. She laughed at him, finally sinking down onto the bed so he could reach her.

“Easy Mischief,” she assured him, the same way she did every time she came back from an akuma attack. “I'm fine.”

Adrien wasn't satisfied until she held out her hands for his inspection, his whiskers arcing forward and tickling her fingers. He sniffed her hands from nails to wrist and back again before circling around her, looking for any sign that she'd been hurt in the battle. Finding none he crawled back into her lap, stretching up and putting his front paws on her chest for balance so he could reach her face.

She smiled as he examined her features, his expression oddly intent. He licked suspiciously at a dark spot on her cheek. She tasted like sweat and dirt but not blood and he gave a relieved sigh, finally letting loose a purr and rubbing his face against hers in greeting.

Marinette smiled and ran a hand down his back, cupping his tail loosely in her palm, giving it a teasing wiggle. “See? Told you.”

It had become a ritual of sorts. Since he'd been turned into a cat and subsequently adopted by Marinette, Adrien had grown more and more upset about not being able to help her when there was an akuma. What if she were hurt? It would be his fault because he couldn't be there to protect her.

The thought made him feel sick, but all he cold do was pace and wait until she came back, afraid that one day she simply wouldn't. When she did return she'd learned to sit tolerantly through his inspections instead of ignoring him or brushing him off. If she didn't he'd bother her until she managed to sit still long enough for him to ensure she was okay.

Legs draping over her shoulder he pressed his face against her neck and she wrapped him in a loose hug.

“I love you too,” she said, kissing the top of his head. She moved to stand and Adrien danced away, following her down the ladder. She laced her fingers together, stretching her arms over her head and arching her back with a groan, her spine popping. Adrien wove between her legs, his tail curling around her calves.

Marinette gave a heavy sigh, dropping her arms and cracking her neck before heading to the bathroom, ready for a shower. Adrien took his usual place by the door, lying down, content to wait. As long as she was home she was safe. That's all that mattered. Her gentle soprano drifted through the door a few moments later as she ran the water, singly idly to herself.

Adrien let her voice lull him into a brief nap, a low purr vibrating through his chest, his ears flicking as Tikki came over, settling down beside him and nibbling on a cookie. After a brief incident where he'd nearly eaten her upon their first meeting, his cat instincts urging him to chase anything that ran, or in her case flew, they'd become something close to friends. Her presence soothed the emptiness left behind by Plagg. Adrien hadn't seen him since he'd first been turned into a cat and it worried him. His miraculous was gone as well. He never thought he'd miss the sarcastic little kwami but he did.

He jumped when Marinette opened the door, startling him out of his doze and Marinette laughed, towel drying her hair. “Sorry dear.” She knelt down to give him an apologetic scratch between the ears. “I didn't mean to startle you.”

Adrien leaned briefly into her hand before pulling away and busying himself with his own bath as Marinette dropped her towel to change. He may have been a cat but he wasn't a pervert.

He waited until she was done before following her up the stairs to bed, tucking himself between her arms after she'd turned out the lights and crawled beneath the covers. Tikki drifted down to lay on the pillow beside them, nuzzling Marinette's cheek and she smiled, sighing contentedly. She buried her nose in Adrien's soft fur, falling asleep to the soft vibration of his purring against her ribs.

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have been asked for the pain. So here is the beginning of it. Ye be warned. Angst ahead.

 

 

Marinette was crying. Adrien blinked himself awake and stretched with a yawn, his toes curling. He could sense her distress and hear her muffled sobs coming from somewhere beneath him. He meowed quietly, heading down the ladder as she hiccuped. He found her sitting on the windowsill, her face buried against her knees, Tikki resting on her shoulder. Adrien whined, touching her leg with one paw. When she didn't look at him he rubbed his head against her ankle, meowing again. She finally uncurled, sniffling and wiping her cheeks.

“I'm okay,” she muttered, but her words were choked with tears. “I didn't mean to wake you.” She patted her stomach in invitation and Adrien leapt up into her lap, wedging himself between her knees and her chest, meowing in concern. Tikki rested a hand against her cheek, sharing a distressed look with Adrien.

“It'll be okay,” Tikki said softly, leaning into Marinette's cheek. Marinette dissolved into tears again, burying her face in Adrien's fur. He purred, trying to offer her some kind of comfort but generally feeling like he was failing.

“I'm scared,” she whispered and Adrien didn't know if she was talking to him or Tikki. “It's been a month.” She leaned back to stare down into his green eyes. She gasped for breath. “Adrien,” she hiccuped. “Chat...they're both gone and I-” She keened in despair and Adrien felt guilt twist like a knife in his heart. He wanted to cry, to apologize, to reassure her he was okay, but all that came out was a thin meow.

“We'll find him Mari,” Tikki said, “We will. Someone will find him. He can't have just disappeared without a trace.”

Marinette's head thumped back against the wall. “What if he's hurt? What if what they're saying is true, that he's been kidnapped?” She swallowed thickly, her eyes dark and wet.

“But then why hasn't there been a ransom demand?” Tikki asked and fear twisted Marinette's features, hollowing her face until she looked drawn and exhausted. “The problem is it could be anything, we just don't know,” she frowned.

Worry had stretched Marinette thin and tight as a rubber band and Adrien was afraid she was going to snap. He had to find a way back, to fix whatever had done this to him. For her sake if nothing else.

“I'm so, so scared,” she whispered. “I just wish we knew something, anything. It's the not knowing that the worst. If we just knew _something._ ” She buried her hands in her hair and pulled, Adrien rubbing against her. She needed to breathe. She was hyperventilating.

“Breathe Marinette,” Tikki soothed, echoing his thoughts.

Adrien stood up, his front feet on her heaving chest, rubbing his cheek insistently against hers, his heart hurting. He would find a way to fix this, he promised himself. He had to.

 


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh look more pain. 
> 
> As always, if you catch any spelling flubs lemme know.

 

Ladybug pushed open the trapdoor that led out to her balcony, Adrien standing on her feet. He meowed up at her, butting is head against her shin. He didn't like it when she left for patrol, but it was better than knowing she was headed straight for an akuma without any back up. But not by much. He leaned against her, meowing again and Ladybug hesitated, the city lights winking at her in the dark.

“Oh you want to come do you?” she teased.

Adrien meowed again, standing up to paw at her thigh and Ladybug chewed on her lip as if actually thinking about it. He always wanted to go. Not that she'd ever let him.

To his surprise she caved. “All right.” She scooped him up in her arms, depositing him on her balcony, pulling herself up after him, careful to close the trap door as quietly as possible. “It's just a patrol so it should be okay. Just be careful,” she scolded. “I don't need you falling off a roof.” Since losing Chat and Adrien over a month ago, Mischief had been her near constant companion and confidant. He was probably the only thing keeping her sane during the entire thing. She couldn't bear the thought of losing him too.

Leaving her yoyo attached to her hip, she opted to take a longer, more winding route through Paris via the connected rooftops so Mischief could follow. She went slower than normal, so he could keep up, using the patrol as an excuse to get out of the house more than anything. It had been a quiet week and she was restless.

She looked fondly down at Mischief as he ran along beside her, his little legs racing to keep up. She had to admit, it was nice to have company again.

When they came to the end of the connected structures or reached a gap Adrien couldn't traverse Ladybug would pick him up, swinging them across before they were off again.

Paris was surprisingly quiet and Ladybug paused for a moment only halfway through the patrol, letting Mischief catch up. He was breathing heavily as he leapt up on top of a chimney, his heart racing in his chest and his sides heaving.

Marinette crossed her arms atop the chimney, resting her chin on them until she and Mischief were nose to nose. Adrien flopped down on the chimney, panting and Ladybug smiled.

“You're not the _petit chat noir_ I was hoping for, but it's nice to have company again.” She scratched his head with a finger and Adrien flipped over onto his back so she would rub his tummy.

“Silly kitty,” she whispered but Adrien only purred. He'd do anything to keep her smiling, to keep her mind off him, to keep her from missing him. It was little comfort, he knew, but at least it was something.

The quiet was shattered as a window below them blew out with a shuddering explosion, rocking the peaceful night. The air was pierced by screams as frightened civilians poured our from the late night diner. Glass skittered across the pavement, the light catching off it like glitter dust as the akuma came roaring out onto the street.

“Stay here,” Ladybug ordered, pointing a warning finger in Adrien's face before leaping down into the fray.

Adrien let out a yowl of protest, jumping down from the chimney and running to the edge of the roof after her. The akuma was shouting below him, hurling menus from a platter in her hand like they were frisbees.

“You think just because I work as a waitress you can treat me like this? I'm a person, not a commodity!” she shouted, her face angry behind the black mask. “I don't owe you anything, least of all a smile or a pleasant attitude!” she shouted, hurling more menus. The people struck by them were transformed into waiters, fry cooks, and fast food workers, all of them with wide, painful looking smiles, their movements stiff and jerking.

“I'm not a puppet whose strings you get to pull for your own amusement!”

Adrien ran back and forth across the roof of the building, only half listening to the raging akuma as he looked for a way down. Ladybug engaged the waitress, drawing her away from the civilians and Adrien and he scrambled after them.

By the time he reached the street they'd already disappeared, leaving a trail of debris and doll like workers behind them. Adrien caught up with them just in time to see the akuma swing her platter like a shield at Ladybug, the blow catching her midair and sending her flying into the nearest building, her body crashing through the window with a shattering crash.

Adrien yowled in fury, launching himself at the akuma, a flurry of teeth and fur and claws. The akuma shrieked and reeled backwards, trying to pry him off, but Adrien wouldn't let go. His claws sunk into tender flesh, clawing and biting, spitting in rage. The akuma finally caught a fistful of fur and the next thing Adrien knew he was flying through the air and Ladybug was screaming.

 ~

She didn't remember defeating the akuma, breaking the platter over her knee, or cleansing the city. All Ladybug remembered was the sickening fear as her miraculous washed over the unconscious body of her little stray cat, leaving behind Adrien Agreste in his place, a little black sprite hovering over him.

Ladybug couldn't speak, couldn't breathe. Her entire body felt numb, blood roaring in her ears. Everything looked and felt far away, like she was standing on the other side of a pane of warped glass. She could see everything but not really experience what was happening. Part of her felt like she was floating, seeing everything from overhead as she sank to the ground beside Adrien, his hair stained with blood. She thought the kwami was speaking to her, but she couldn't hear him over the white noise in her ears.

Her fingers ghosted against his arm before flinching back as if she'd been burned. She shook her head in denial, her lips forming his name without sound, horror stealing her voice. She gripped his arm, turning him towards her and Adrien's head lolled against the pavement.

Everything seemed to come slamming back into focus with searing clarity and Ladybug screamed. Terror and relief gripped her tight, one fear replacing another, sinking its claws deep and shredding her from the inside out. She scooped Adrien's limp body into her arms, heedless of her beeping miraculous and ran.

Blind with panic and tears, she couldn't figure out where she was, where she was going, just knew she was running out of time. What felt like seconds later her miraculous gave out and she stumbled beneath Adrien's weight, her knees buckling. She cradled him against her as she fell, trying to protect him from the brunt of the impact, struggling to breathe through the knot in her throat.

She scooted backwards, crying intermittently until her back hit a wall and she groped for her phone with thick, heavy fingers. She couldn't seem to get them to do what she wanted and the phone slipped from her grasp, clattering to the ground. She poked at the screen, blinking through the tears and dialed 112.

“Please, please be okay,” she babbled, clutched at Adrien's shirt as he lay motionless in her lap, the line ringing. “Oh god please.” She heard a tinny voice on the other end of the line and stared hollowly down at the screen of her phone not sure what to do. She couldn't get her brain to work through the panic. “Help me,” she choked, “He's hurt and I can't- Oh gods someone help me!” His head wouldn't stop bleeding and no matter how hard she shook him Adrien wouldn't wake up. She couldn't tell if he was still breathing.

It felt like an age before she could hear sirens wailing in the distance.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Little kitties are not meant to go flying through the air.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry these are so short guys. :(

 Tikki had tucked herself and Plagg inside Marinette's purse, Tikki trying to put together what had happened. The paramedics had let Marinette ride in the ambulance, trying to piece together what had happened themselves, but after awhile Marinette had gone numb. She stared sightlessly at Adrien, rocking back and forth as the ambulance lurched. One of the paramedics kept casting her worried glances but she couldn't figure out why. She was fine. Adrien was the one who needed help.

Everything was a blur of lights, adrenaline, and blood.

Once at the hospital they'd ushered her into the waiting room, finally deciding there was nothing wrong with her and hadn't she been telling them that the whole time? She'd answered any questions they'd put to her woodenly, her hands unable to hold a pen and she'd finally abandoned the paperwork they'd asked her to fill out. Unable to sit still she wandered back and forth, blinking in surprise every time she reached a wall before turning around and starting again.

Feeling only began to trickle back through the haze she was floating in when she saw her parents hurry in.

“ _Maman..._ ” Tears filled Marinette's eyes as her parents wrapped her in a tight hug, their faces ashen. Her mother's hair was a mess and her father was still in his nightshirt and Marinette wondered distantly how they'd found out. She didn't remember calling them. Maybe one of the nurses had done it. Hadn't one of them asked her about that earlier? She couldn't remember.

Marinette choked on a sob, burying her face in her mother's shoulder.

“What happened _chérie_?” her father asked, running a hand down her hair. “What were you doing out in the middle of the night?”

Marinette shook her head. “A-Adrien,” she choked out and her parents shared a look. Her mother pulled back, holding her at arm's length.

“The Agreste boy? You found him?”

Marinette nodded, scrubbing at her face with a hand, struggling to breathe. “H-he's hurt...” Her lips trembled. “An akuma...threw him. He hit a car.” She squeezed her eyes closed trying to get the image of him lying motionless on the pavement out of her head. “His head,” she gasped. “ _Maman_ , it wouldn't stop bleeding.” She dissolved into tears again, sagging in her mother's grip.

“The blood, it's not yours? Marinette, are you hurt?” Panic made her father's voice sharp and Marinette looked up, shaking her head.

“I'm fine Papa, I'm fine. Adrien-”

Her mother pulled her close. “Shh, I'm sure he's going to be fine. Head wounds usually look much worse than they are,” she soothed, but Marinette couldn't fight back the image of him lying there, fear coiling around her heart like ice. Tom led them over to some chairs before checking in at the desk, looking for any information, but there was none to be had.

For several hours Marinette refused to leave, but finally her parents convinced her to come home, promising she could come back in the morning. She spent the night pacing back and forth across her room, chewing her nails raw.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so the next chapter is being a clunky pain in the ass or I would have posted it with this one. Hopefully I'll get it smoothed over and figured out soon for you guys.
> 
> Edit: Okay, I think I finally have the last chapter structured the way I want. It needs one last run through to make sure it's as clean as possible, but hopefully it'll be up soon.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This still feels clunky in places but I figure I've tortured you all long enough. 
> 
> May post a bonus chapter of Ladybug scolding Chat later, we'll see how it develops. But for now! This is it. Thanks for reading guys!

 By the time Marinette reached the hospital the next day the news has broken. Adrien Agreste had been found. His father had immediately canceled all his plans and was flying back as the media swarmed the hospital. Marinette had been unable to sleep for more than a few hours last night, the rest of her time spent talking with Tikki and Plagg or wearing a hole in her carpet. She'd left the house for the hospital almost as soon as the sun had risen, leaving a note for her parents. She didn't think they'd mind she skipped school. They'd almost insisted on as much the night before.

Marinette didn't think she'd be able to get anywhere near Adrien, or that he'd even be awake as she stepped through the doors of the hospital. She didn't need to ask which room was his. A wild guess told her it was the one surrounded by security and reporters, the nurses obviously disgruntled by the disturbance. Marinette lingered outside the chaos, stretching up onto her toes to try and see into Adrien's room. She caught a glimpse of him sitting up in bed, ringed by security and something in her heart squeezed at the sight. He was awake and breathing and _alive._

Relief hit her like a wave of ice water and she clutched at her chest, the air forced from her lungs and she curled in on herself. Her knees nearly buckled as she tried to remember how to breathe through the weight on her chest. She rested a hand against the wall for balanced until she could stand again. Against all odds their eyes met from across the room through the sea of people, her heart stopping. She could see him mouth her name.

Tearing his gaze from hers Adrien gestured to one of the guards who leaned towards him. She saw them both glance her way but Adrien refrained from pointing at her directly, likely to save her from the sea of reporters, several of whom were already casting suspicious looks her way. Marinette's palms began to sweat. A few minutes later she was being escorted through the throng, the security guard's hand lingering on the small of her back as he glared at the reporters shouting her way. The camera flashes were blinding.

Her stomach twisted itself in knots, her eyes locked on Adrien as they approached. She stared at him, her eyes wide and unblinking as she was led right up to the bed. She was afraid it was all a dream and if she moved too quickly or looked away just a moment too long, it would shatter around her and she'd be left standing in the nightmare again, his body in her arms. She thought she might be sick.

“Could you give us a moment?” Adrien asked his security guard, their eyes still locked together. The man who seemed to be in charge frowned and was about to say something before Adrien interrupted finally tearing his gaze from Marinette. “She's the girl who saved my life,” he said, his voice a little sharp. “She isn't going to hurt me.” The security guard worked his mouth as if to argue before he finally relented, gesturing the others back and drawing the curtain around the bed closed, cutting them off from the flashing cameras and chattering reporters.

They stared at each other in silence, neither sure what to say.

“How-” Marinette's voice came out a dry rasp and she cleared her throat, trying again. “How did you...know it was me? Who found you?” She dropped her gaze, fiddling with her purse, suddenly feeling awkward.

“One of the nurses,” Adrien explained, his voice soft. “When I woke up she told me a girl with dark hair tied back into pigtails had come in with me. I figured it was you.” He lifted one shoulder in a half hearted shrug, glancing up at her from beneath his lashes. “Are you okay?”

Marinette was startled by the sound of her own broken laughter and covered her mouth with a hand until she had the laughter under control. “Sorry,” she whispered. It was all the answer Adrien needed. She trembled, tears sliding down her cheeks as she shook her head. “I'm not- I'm not hurt,” she stuttered finally looking up at him. “But I am not okay.” She stepped closer to the bed, her hand reaching out as if of it's own free will, hesitating briefly before resting feather-light against his cheek.

“Is this a dream?” she whispered. Her voice was thick; dry and rough from crying. She sounded as bad as she looked.

Her cheeks were raw and her eyes were swollen and red. Her hair was a knotted mess and she looked ashen. She'd changed but thin brown streaks of what Adrien assumed was his own blood still stained her cheek. Seeing her with his own eyes, his human eyes, Adrien thought she was beautiful. He reached up and covered the hand on his cheek with his own.

“I'm okay Mari.”

Hearing him say it left her weak and she choked on a sob, dropping bonelessly into a chair someone had pulled over, her knees finally giving out. She buried her face in the bed and cried, Adrien hesitating a moment before reaching over and running a hand through her hair, one of her ribbons tangling around his fingers. Her shoulders shook and she clutched at his hand, using it as an anchor to try and keep her grounded. It was several minutes before she sat up again, wiping at her face and apologizing. She hadn't meant to make a scene. She sent up a quiet prayer for the curtain separating them from the throng of people behind them.

“What happened?” she whispered still clutching at his hand. “You- We didn't know what happened. You were just gone.” Her voice cracked around the words. Gods she was so tired of crying. “Everyone thought you'd been kidnapped.” She bit at her chapped lips, worrying them with her teeth. “We thought- No one wanted to say it, but you were gone for so long everyone thought you were dead.”

Adrien looked so forlorn, lying on the bed and staring at her. She noticed idly that someone had washed the blood from his hair. “I think you know what happened,” he said softly. It wasn't the answer she'd been expecting but it should have been.

Marinette's face crumpled, nodding that she did. “Mischief,” she said. Adrien nodded and Marinette squeezed his hand, trying to ease the guilt on his face. She swallowed thickly. “I think I'm supposed to be angry,” she said slowly,0” and embarrassed that you've been living in my room for the past month but...” She shook her head, rubbing at her eyes until they stung. “I can't feel much of anything right now.” Her hand fell away and she stared at him. “How?”

Adrien shook his head. “I think it was the last akuma we fought together.” He pitched his voice low and Marinette stiffened. She knew he knew. She'd spent hours talking to his kwami last night and he'd seen her transform from Ladybug and back again a hundred times in the past month. But hearing him say it? Somehow that was different. She felt flushed, simultaneously too hot and too cold, her heart hammering.

“Right, you know I'm Ladybug.” She reached for her purse with her free hand, Adrien squeezing her fingers like he was afraid she was going to pull away. “Speaking of which.” She popped the little clasp and the two kwami's came flying out of it, Plagg crashing against Adrien's chest with an audible thump. It brought a small smile to Marinette's face for the first time and Adrien had never been more thankful for the little kwami.

“Adrien!” Plagg cried, spreading his little arms against his chosen in a kwami sized hug.

“Plagg, where have you been?” Adrien hissed, throwing a careful glance at the curtain before a smile pulled at his lips. He rubbed the back of Plagg's head, surprised by how much he'd missed him.

Plagg glared. “Stuck with you,” he snapped, smacking Adrien's chest. “How'd you think you got turned into a cat huh?”

“You mean...somehow we wound up fused together?” Adrien asked, glancing between him and Marinette. Marinette nodded.

“That's the running theory anyway,” she said.

“Don't ask me how,” Plagg went on. “I don't know, but I think it's something like when we become Chat Noir except...a more advanced version of it or something?” He shrugged. “Whatever it was I didn't like it.”

“But if it was the last akuma Ladybug and I fought together why didn't defeating it and cleansing the city fix it?” Adrien asked. “Why now? Why a month later in a completely unrelated fight?”

Plagg shrugged. “Don't know. Maybe it had something to do with you being hurt this time around and that somehow reset the miraculous. All I know is it worked and that's that.” He glanced around the bed. “And now that that's out of the way,” Plagg said, deciding the conversation was officially over, “I'm starving. They got any cheese around here?”

Adrien rolled his eyes, only slightly exasperated. “I'm glad some things never change,” he muttered as Plagg darted off, but his smile slowly fell and he rubbed his thumb against Marinette's knuckles. “I'm so sorry Marinette. I never meant for any of this to happen: to invade your privacy, to find out your identify like that...and I never meant to scare you so badly.” He rubbed at his face with a wince and Marinette's lips parted in surprise.

“That's what you're worried about?” She sat on the bed next to him, pulling him into a hug. He wrapped the arm that wasn't hooked up to an i.v. around her, his grip tighter than she'd expected. She returned it full force, resting her cheek against his hair.

“You're my best friend Mari,” he whispered into her shoulder. “I don't want to lose you because of some stupid accident.” Marinette held him tighter as his voice cracked. She shook her head, clinging to the hospital gown he wore.

“You silly cat,” she chided. “How can I blame you for something you had no control over?” She pulled away, brushing his hair off his face and cupping his cheeks. “I'm just glad you're okay.” Her lips trembled and she swallowed thickly. “I didn't realize how much I needed you, needed Chat, until he was gone. And not just for fighting akuma.” She flushed and pulled away. “You're one of my best friends Adrien. I just didn't know it.” She summoned the courage to look at him, her voice firm. “I'm not going anywhere.” She looked away and fiddled with her fingers, her voice quiet. “So long as you want me,” she muttered, “I'll be here.”

Adrien tipped her chin up. “I'm always going to want you.” His cheeks burned as he realized the way it sounded but he didn't look away. His mind drifted back to the way she'd talked to Mischief about him, how he'd seen her worry about him. “I just wish I'd known how you felt about me a long time ago.”

Marinette shrugged awkwardly, her face burning. She seemed to be remembering the same thing. “How could you? It's not like I could string two words together around you.” She tugged at a loose thread on her jeans, her voice self-depreciating.

“Are...” Adrien fiddled with the bed sheet. “Are you disappointed I'm Chat?” he asked, hurrying on before she could speak. “You've always been honest with him, both as Ladybug and Marinette and I...I don't want that to change because you feel like you can't talk to _Adrien_.” He sounded almost bitter. “So if you are...disappointed,” he said, wincing. “I need you to tell me.”

Marinette's eyebrows knitted and she twisted their fingers together. “I'm not...disappointed you're Chat or that he's you,” she said slowly, trying to process through what she was feeling. “I'm disappointed in myself.”

Adrien frowned. “What do you mean?”

Marinette tried to pull her hand away but Adrien wouldn't let her. “I'm disappointed to realize I don't know you at all. I know Chat,” she mumbled, “but I don't know Adrien.” Her smile was sad, disparaging. “There's so much more to you than what you show the world and I never saw it.”

Adrien actually laughed, startling her. “Don't be ridiculous.” His eyes sparkled with laughter. “I've heard you talk about me Marinette, as Mischief.” He winked at her and she felt her heart skip. “I think you know me a lot better than you're giving yourself credit for.”

She blushed prettily, Adrien reaching out to hold her other hand. Marinette was content to let him hold her hands forever.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here, have something cute: http://freyamaat.tumblr.com/post/143836591748/more-miraculous-ladybug-this-time-featuring


End file.
